KPNB1-ATF4 induces BNIP3-dependent mitophagy to drive odontoblastic differentiation in dental pulp stem cells

Abstract Background Differentiating dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) into odontoblasts is a critical process for tooth self-repair and dentine‒pulp engineering strategies in the clinic. However, the mechanism underlying the regulation of DPSC odontoblastic differentiation remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that BCL-2 interacting protein 3 (BNIP3)-dependent mitophagy is associated with importin subunit beta-1 (KPNB1)-activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), which promotes DPSC odontoblastic differentiation. Methods The key genes involved in DPSC odontogenic differentiation were identified via bioinformatics. Stable silencing or overexpression of BNIP3 was performed to investigate its impact on DPSC differentiation in vitro ( n ≥ 3). To explore the role of BNIP3 in vivo, tooth root fragments loaded with the hydrogel-transfected DPSC complex were implanted into nude mice ( n ≥ 6). Dual-luciferase reporter assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were conducted to explore the binding site of ATF4 to the BNIP3 promoter ( n ≥ 3). Mitochondrial function experiments were performed to investigate the impact of ATF4-BNIP3 on mitochondria ( n ≥ 3). Immunoprecipitation (IP) mass spectrometry (MS) was used to investigate the interaction between ATF4 and its binding protein, KPNB1. Plasmids containing wild-type (WT)/mutant (MUT)-nuclear localization signal (NLS) forms of ATF4 were constructed to determine the specific amino acid residues recognized by KPNB1 and their effects on DPSC odontoblastic differentiation ( n ≥ 3). Results Compared with those in the control group, the levels of autophagy and mitophagy, especially BNIP3-dependent mitophagy, were greater in the DPSC odontoblastic differentiation group ( P < 0.05). Genetic silencing or overexpression of BNIP3 demonstrated that BNIP3 expression was positively correlated with the transition of DPSCs into odontoblasts both in vitro and in vivo ( P < 0.05). ATF4 regulates the expression of BNIP3 by directly binding to approximately −1292 to −1279 bp and approximately −1185 to −1172 bp within the BNIP3 promoter region, which is associated with mitophagy and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) levels ( P < 0.05). Moreover, ATF4 increased mitophagy, mitochondrial function, and cell differentiation potential via BNIP3 ( P < 0.05). Mechanistically, KPNB1 is a novel interacting protein of ATF4 that specifically recognizes amino acids (aa) 280–299 within ATF4 to control its translocation into the nucleus and subsequent transcription and differentiation processes ( P < 0.05). Conclusions We reported that the critical role of KPNB1/ATF4/BNIP3 axis-dependent mitophagy could provide new cues for the regeneration of the dental pulp‒dentin complex in DPSCs. Graphical Abstract